THE ORIGINAL Of the Popish LJTURGIE, OR, The Arguments alleged by the Papists, in Defence of the book of COMMON-PRAYER, taken out of their own Service-Booke.  
By which wee may also easily perceive upon what ground ours doth stand, and what Alliance it hath with theirs.  
London Printed, and are to be sold by Henry Walker, 1641.   

THE original OF THE POPISH LITURGIE.  
1 THey allege that their Service, and their Legend and the Rule thereof were all given of one spirit: and that he who set those Songs; and the rest that is in the Service was an holy man, and did it by Heavenly inspirations. For they say that it was given from Heaven by our Lord himself, which they prove thus. The Lord Jesus Christ( say they) indited the Rule himself by his holy mouth, to Saint Brigit; the Legend by an angel, and the Service by an holy man and Saint Peter: This holy man they bring into be Saint Brigits Confessor, and her master; for he taught her Grammar and songs, and governed her and her household. Of whom our lady said thus unto her, S●● to thy Master, that shee who loveth the holy Truth in all her pow●r, hath furthered him so much into the charity of the same holy truth, that he is one of the Priests that God loveth most in the World, therefore it was given to him to indite. This is the Service whereof our Lady said to Saint Brigit an other time, thus? he that enditeth the Rule and that spirit that told thee the lessons, the same spirit gave him to indite, For there came to him so great a wind in his ears, that his breasts and the cells of his head, were all inwardly fulfilled, in which fulfilling all his heart was inflamed to the love of God, whereof, after that fulfilling and inflaming, and so moving of his tongue, he brought forth the words and the notes, and therefore it is not seemly( say the Papists) that they should be altered.  
2 They allege that the Holy Ghost wrought both by the angel and by S. Peter, but diversely in each of them, for God say they) being inclined to mans nature, enlighteneth his soul after his goodwill and pleasure, with the spiritual understanding of his word, and that in two ways, First it seemeth to thee( say they speaking to St. Brigit) as a person showing thee those things that thou hast to say speaking of the angel that appeared to her in mans likeness. 2., it seemeth to rhy M. as though his ears and mourh were filled with wind, and as though his heart were stretched out with brening Charity to God a blather full of wind and in that swee●e heart-bren●ng he got knowledge of some words and sayings, which he could not before, and how he should make Responses, and rutherns and Hymes, and order the songs in notes. And either of these way( do they affirm) is of the Holy Ghost, after the departing of his virtue, th●t is to say, to the angel, to the showing of the lessons; and to the other, th t is to Master Peter in ordaining of the same. Therefore it behoveth neither to shorten no● to lengthen the same by the wit of Man: yet if any word seem dark it is lawful to make it more clear by plain translation, an other time( say they) our Lady said to Saint Brigit. Say to him that writeth my song, and my praising, th●t the Lord will give him crownes of reward in Heaven, for every syllable that is in the song. And it shall be said to him in Heeven( say they) lo here cometh the Pra●ser that indited the song.  
Thirdly, after these fearful blasphemies and abominable lies they proceed further in the●r said service book, where they do more over relate an other l●e of an angel that was sent to Saint Brigit to translate the latter Service into thier own language, When( say they) Saint Brigit had dwelled many yeeres in ROME, in a cardinals place, that joineth unto Saint Laurences Church in Damason, when as shee not knowing, say they, what lessons should bee red by the Nunnes in her Monastery, which Christ bid her build, shee therefore prayed to the Lord Jesus, say they, and he appeared unto her, and said, I shall sand thee mine angel, that shall reveal and indite unto thee the Legend that shall bee red at Mart●ns by the Nunnes in the Monastery, and writ thou it, as he saith unto thee.  
Then had Saint Brigit a Chamber joining unto the said Church of Sa●nt Laurence, and a window to the high Altar whereby shee might see the body of Christ each day, in which Chamber each morning after shee had passed her set hours of Prayers shee made her ready to writ with pen and ink and Paper or parchment, attend ng unto the angel of God, and when he came he stood up by her side having always, as they say, his face towards the Altar, where the body of Christ was hide in a box acco●d●ng to the custom there. And so standing he end●ted the sa●d legend distinctly and in order in the morder●y tongue, and shee devoutely wrote it each day at the Angells mouth, thus was that written whith the angel departed to her in lessons, as they should be red at matins, weekly through the yee●e,  
And when he had done( they say) he said to Saint Brigit; lo I h●ve shapen a coat to the ●ueene of Heaven the mother of God. Oh how glad ought you to be● to sew on this Heavenly coat!  
And when Saint bridget had written the Legend from the Angells mouth in her own tongue, then the angel bad her to take it to Saint PETER for to draw it into latin, and said thus unto her, say, he said, to his master that he and I are both one member in God, for he is as it were the outward member and I am the inward member.  
Therefore let h●m writ these words that I say to thee, and let him put there to, ●nd take therefrom as it pleaseth him, for we both are gove●ned of one spirit, whereas Peter hath turned this Legend into latin, when he sent it to Master Alphonse, which was a Doctor of Divinity to whom our Lord bad that all the Revelations should be t●ken, after they were drawn into latin, to him the lessons & revelations were brought, to see that they were set in true conven ent terms, without error or darkness, for he was a great clerk.  
From hence they conclude that the Service book ought to be used, in sing●ng, reading, and praying, with more diligence and devotion then other rayers, not onely for the holy ordinance, and the setting thereof, but because they are more bound thereto( say they) in divers wise. One for the ordinance and obedience of holy Church, where all that are bound to divine Service are bidden strictly in virtue of holy obedience, to say or sing the said service, not altering a word from it, for that is forbidden( say they) by holy Church, under great pain, and the Prelates of the Church bee charged to take heed thereof. An other thing is in respect of your foundations.  
The third bond is from the rule of your profession( say they) whereby ye are solemnly bound to the observance of this set form more then any Prophets; for it pleaseth God more( say they) as is more profitable to us. And then they relate a story of the soul of one whom they call an holy religious man, which appeared to his Abbot after his death, and bad him to exhort his brethren to say this holy divine service with all reverence and devotion, that the Angells might offer it up to God, while they so duly observe it, for this holy Service( he said) in earth pleaseth God, as much as that which is done of Angells before his high Majesty in Heaven.  
It is also( say they) better to observe this form, and more powerful with God, then ten thousand other Prayers.  
To make the people believe that it is very perilous to them to be absent from the Church during the time of Divine Service; they tell them an abominable lye, which is placed in their Service book; which is as followeth.  
THere was( say they) a great and worthy clerk that left the World and became a religious man in the City of Paris, and kept the rigour of his Religion in great straightness all the dayes of his life who was absent from the choir at a certain time( yet by the licence of his Abbot) But after he was dead and butted, one night as the Abbot stood at matins with his brethren, he see one to stand in the same place where this man used to sit when he was at matins himself; who lowly inclined to the Abbot, understanding that it was the same mans soul, he went with him out of the choir into the Chapitre house, where the soul was immediately taken, and so tormented for a long time, and after his torment he appeared again to this Abbot, and then the Abbot asked him the cause of his pain, he answered and said, for Divine Service, because I was absent from it. Then said the Abbot, I did for good cause give thee leave to be absent from divine Service, when thou wast absent: The soul answered and said, an unlawful leave is not leave, but violence of the order. Then the Abbot asked him what might deliver him from this pain, and he said a trentale of Masses sung for him in the Covent, which was done, and the soul was delivered,  
These abominable lies and seducements, doth the Church of Rome ground their Popish Service book upon( as may appear in their own book so called) having no better foundation then here you see.  
FINIS.